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Ask a Study Skills Question

I'm so embarrassed. I have plenty of time to do what I need to do, and I really mean to do it, but somehow, I'm always scrambling to turn my assignments in on time. What can I do to change?

It is a little funny, but students who have no outside commitments are sometimes in as much trouble as those who have too many outside commitments. There is no sense of urgency to get anything done. You have two or three times as much time as you need to get your homework done, so why start on it right away? Yet then, all of a sudden, one day slips past, and then another, and then another, and suddenly you have a sense of urgency (and frustration), because you only have at most an hour to complete the assignment.

My favorite solutions:

  1. Start on assignments as soon as you get them. You don't have to try to finish them in one sitting, but ignore the deadline. Tackle them immediately. This habit helps you also gauge how long it really will take you to finish the assignment.
  2. Set up a study schedule-set aside certain hours each day that you will spend studying. Treat these time slots as an appointment you must keep (and study where you won't be distracted or tempted to do something else, or interrupted by friends or others who will distract you, either). For some students, these study sessions may be a full time slot of 2-3 hours per day, but that doesn't work as well for me, and for some others I've talked to. They do better by setting aside one hour here, then another hour later in the day, and then one more. Sometimes it's hard to make yourself study for 3 hours straight-you tend to find ways to waste time, whereas you can be very productive in 45 minutes to an hour (and the relieved to know that the time is up!)
  3. Give yourself rewards for doing what you have to do-plan to go get dinner after you put in an hour or two of studying. (Just be sure not to reward yourself before you accomplish your goals!)
  4. Do your work first; play afterwards (whether it's a reward or not-it is very hard to stop doing something fun to go study. Get your studying time in first, then go have fun).
  5. Remember that you are working to change some bad habits. It will take practice. You will 'fall off the horse' a few times-get back on it again.
  6. Sit down once a week to evaluate your success. Analyze what worked for you and what needs to change. You can do this as a journal-writing activity or just as part of working with a calendar or to do list-but once a week, hold yourself accountable. Ask yourself, am I doing better? If not, why not?
  7. If you find you can't seem to make any changes, it may be that you aren't really committed to the goals. Maybe you don't really want to be in college right now. Maybe you need a break to try working and supporting yourself and come back to college when you are prepared to make it a top priority. Maybe you haven't found a major you like or a career path you believe in. Sometimes, we don't do things, because we haven't decided that they matter. Reflect on why not, and what would have to change to make it matter to you.

Good luck!

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